"Lych Trees?" Molly tilted her head in confusion, "Lych wood can be used to make decorative pieces, like small tables or carvings; but honestly, it’s terrible trying to build with it. Whether it’s ships, houses, or even just crates, we never use it for anything if we can avoid it."

"Hm? Really?" Now it was Lucas’ turn to be confused, "Back in my hometown, we used Lych wood all the time to build things."

"Really? Where do you come from?" Molly asked incredulously.

Seeing no reason to hide his origins, Lucas immediately replied, "I’m from Redwood Town. It’s a small frontier town that sits at the border of the kingdom and the Great Western Forest."

Knitting her brow, Molly searched her memories, but ultimately came up blank, forcing her to turn to her uncle.

Understanding his niece’s dilemma, Lester Randolph showed a small smile and explained, "The nearest city would probably be Herald City in the South-West Province."

"Ah... oh, I’m sorry..." With a rough idea of where Lucas’ hometown was now, Molly immediately showed an awkward look and apologized, both because of her ignorance, and because she was at least somewhat aware of the disaster that had recently taken place in the south-west of the kingdom.

"It’s alright, I should have explained myself better," Lucas said with a little embarrassment.

"No no, it’s my fault for being uninformed," Molly apologized again, worried Lucas might have been offended.

For a moment, there was a bit of uncomfortable silence, but Lucas quickly shook his head and moved the conversation forward, "As I was saying, we used Lych Trees quite frequently in my hometown without any major problems, so why don’t you use them here?"

"Ah, en," Molly, also eager to alleviate the tension in the air, took the offered opportunity and said, "I can’t say for certain, but if I had to guess, I’d bet that the species of Lych around your hometown are probably different from the ones we have here."

"I see," Lucas nodded, "What is it about the Lych Trees here that make them unsuitable for construction?"

Settling back into a natural rhythm, Molly explained, "There are a number of reasons, but I’d say the biggest one is that the Lych Trees here have too much sap, which makes cutting them into planks harder and drying them take longer."

Lucas became interested when he heard the last part of Molly’s words; after all, he wasn’t looking to build things from Lych Trees, what he wanted from them was their sap.

The higher the sap content, the better.

As Lucas was mulling over the implications of this new information, Molly suddenly showed a look of understanding on her face and asked, "Do the Lych Trees around your hometown have thin, palm-sized leaves?"

"Hm?" Lucas thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Yes, that’s right."

"Do those leaves mainly turn yellow in the fall?" Molly followed up.

"How did you know?" Lucas asked with some surprise.

"I see, that makes sense," Molly grinned, "Those are Yellow Lychs which are much more common in the west. They grow faster and have dryer, softer wood compared to most other species of Lych, which makes them easier to work with."

"Is that so? Does that mean Yellow Lych isn’t common around Falcon’s Bend?" Lucas wondered.

"That’s right," Molly nodded, "By far, the most common species of Lych Tree we have around here is Red. Long-Leaf, Spearhead, and Star Lych are the next most common after that."

Taking note of all these new names, Lucas asked what he was really interested in, "Do any of the species of Lych around here have particularly high sap content?"

Molly didn’t know why Lucas was wondering about such an odd subject, but she still answered his question, "Star Lych undoubtedly has the highest sap content, followed by Red, while the others all have similar wetness to their wood."

"Star Lych is actually quite an interesting species," Molly continued, putting her vast knowledge of the local wood products on display, "Most Lych Trees take about 50 years to reach maturity, at which point they are generally considered Low-Rank First Order. Some of them can continue to grow and become Mid-Rank First Order species, but that tends to take another 50 to 100 years of growth."

"Star Lych, on the other hand, take at least 100 years to reach maturity, but when they do, they’re almost always considered Peak-Rank First Order. Another 100 to 150 years after that and some of them can even become Low-Rank Second Order."

"When properly processed, Star Lych wood is classified as a Low-Rank 2 Mortal Grade Material because of how hard and durable it is. However, there are other types of trees around Falcon’s Bend that grow faster and are easier to work with that are of similar Grade, so we still rarely touch them unless it’s to clear new land."

The more Lucas heard about these Star Lych trees, the more excited he became, eagerly asking, "How common are Star Lych around Falcon’s Bend?"

Slightly taken aback by the boy’s enthusiasm, Molly checked her memory quickly and answered, "I’d say only 1 out of every 10 trees around here is Lych, with Red Lych making up about 90% while the other 10% is an equal mix of Long-Leaf, Spearhead, and Star."

Seeing Lucas’ expression droop slightly at this news, Molly quickly added, "However, if you go a bit further north, you tend to find more Star Lych, with certain areas of the forest having quite a high number of them."

Hearing this, Lucas’ frown immediately turned into a giant smile.

Red Lych trees sounded the most promising for mass-producing sugar, but the Star Lych trees were what really attracted his attention.

The Low and Mid-Rank First Order Yellow Lych trees back in Redwood Town produced High-Rank 2 Mortal Grade sugar, so what Grade of sugar could he make from Peak-Rank First Order and Low-Rank Second Order Star Lych trees?

Peak-Rank 2?

Low-Rank 3?

Maybe even Mid-Rank 3!?

Suddenly, the forests around Lucas looked like they were made of gold!

No no, of Spirit Crystals!

"Do you have some special use for those Star Lych Trees?" Molly asked, clearly having noticed Lucas’ interest.

"Yes!" Lucas nodded vigorously, saying with an almost palpable fervor, "Lord Randolph, Lady Molly, please refrain from cutting down any Star Lych Trees in the future! Also, if you could send scouts to look for nearby locations with high concentrations of both Red and Star Lych Trees, my Master and I would very much appreciate it!"

Both Molly and Lester were intrigued by Lucas’ request.

In Molly’s opinion, Lych Trees, especially Star Lych, were pretty much useless. They also grew quite large and had very deep roots, making them a nuisance to deal with when they wanted to open up new logging areas.

As for Count Randolph, the fact that Lucas specifically wanted him to send out scouts to search for these trees, even going so far as to bring up his Master, meant that this was a matter of significant importance.

This point was also not lost on the Former Count, who couldn’t help asking, "Does the Marquess have some need of this... Star Lych wood?"

"The Marquess!?" Molly’s head abruptly jerked towards her grandfather.

"Hm?" Nicholas paused before realizing, "Oh, right right, your mother and you have always admired Marquess Balfour, haven’t you?"

"How could we not!?" Molly exclaimed, "Marquess Balfour is the role model for all women in the South-East Province! No, the whole Rockwell Kingdom!"

With stars in her eyes, Molly mused aloud, "Mother said that last time she accompanied grandma to Misty City, they got to meet with the Marquess in person and even shared a meal with her! Oh, if only I had gone with Mom on that trip, I might have been able to meet her too!"

"Hahaha," Nicholas Randolph laughed, slapping Lucas on the shoulder before saying in a near boastful tone, "If that’s what you want, you should try your best to help little Lucas here out; after all, he’s Marquess Celestina’s official Disciple."

Before Lucas even had a chance to react, Molly dashed over, grabbed his hands, and practically pressed her face into his, "You’re Marquess Balfour’s Disciple?!"

"Uh... yes?" Lucas, feeling pressured by the young woman’s overwhelming enthusiasm, answered reflexively.

"Why didn’t you say so!?" Molly shouted, "If that’s the case, don’t bother with Uncle Lester! No one knows the woods around Falcon’s Bend better than me and my lumberjacks! We’ll find you all the Star Lych trees you need!"

"Er... en," Lucas nodded, leaning back slightly, trying to separate their faces, "That would be great."

"Great enough to introduce me to Lady Celestina!?" Molly leaned in further, her hands gripping his even tighter.

Well, if she can really help us harvest a large amount of Lych Tree sap, I don’t see why Master wouldn’t want to meet her, Lucas reasoned to himself before nodding, "If you can find a place where we can establish a village, or even a small town, with an abundance of Red and Star Lych trees nearby, I can promise you a huge reward and to let you meet with my Master."

"I’LL DO IT!!~" Molly cheered, jumping up and down several times, dancing around happily before turning and running off towards the sawmill, only to run back a few seconds later.

"Ahem," clearing her throat while seemingly trying to compose herself, Molly asked with significantly more politeness, "Is there anything else I can do to assist you, Young Master Lucas?"